Leaderboard

I think I have finished the finishing now, so I just need to bolt it all together (and wire it etc)

Failed promises?

Sarcastic comments like this are one reason why my visits here are growing more and more infrequent. You’re a moderator too. The OP is mostly talking about how little the insured value is. My comment actually says something quite different, i.e that instruments aren’t covered at all, which is the case with parcelforce and possibly others.

Available in Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large, and Made In Texas Medium.

Crack a whip why don't you? Heeheehee. There will be a link but we haven't finished assembling the bits to go on the other end of it yet. Have no fear however, Basschat elves are busy behind the scenes creating the pilot episode for your appraisal. We're aiming for the end of June when we hope to launch the very first one. It's early days. It's also encouraging to see the positive reaction to the project. Thank you.

May be a little late to the party on these, but I bought a set last week (45-100), and fitted them to my US Geddy Lee Jazz. Wow! They are really excellent. I used to use the standard XL strings for some years, but the last few, I've been using Fender flats. Tried some Fender nickels on the bass, and they just didn't cut it. Did some research.....looked at DR....lots of various materials/compounds, but stumbled across the NYXL's. Fitted them last week, and the bass was transformed. It was great before, but these have made it take off - love the tension, feel, balance, can't fault them at all. They feel really nice of the fingers, quite soft - I'm assuming they'll be kind to the frets as well, feeling like they do! Not the cheapest, but if anyone is considering a set, give them a try. Definitely feel a league above the 'standard' XL....and the packaging is awesome as well! Well done D'addario. You've won me back! 😁

Very quick response from Bass Direct who have put a replacement in the post immediately. They pass the test - great service

Today I cut the fret slots into the fretboards and scribed one of the neck joints to the body. I also played around with the Rocklite to see how it worked compared to real wood, in short, easier but I'll update the Rocklite thread with that The fretslots look as if they don't line up in this photo but they do (honest ) Marked out one of the fretboards for the Mother of Pearl markers. Here's what I did: Stuck a bit of masking tape over each fret gap to be inlayed. Marked the centre line of the board, marked the centre line of each fret gap. Marked the fret number on each inlay and the centre lines of each. Stuck masking tape to the bottom of each inlay and cut off the waste with a scalpel. Marked the position with a pencil of each inlay on the fretboard. Put a blob of superglue on the masking tape and put the inlay masking tape down on the fretboard and squared it off with a set square. Marked the fretboard with a scalpel very carefully. Peeled off the masking tape, the inlay and removed the masking tape from the bottom and put t hem carefully to one side. Tomorrow I'll rout out the inlay holes, I ran out of time today

Oooohh errrr missus 😁

For me the joy of live performance is playing brilliant crafted songs as a band and entertaining the audience, and I'm not going to let a some discrepancy in my sound ruin that. With programmable effects my sound for any given song is exactly the same every time and if it isn't that means that there is something very wrong acoustically with the venue, which is beyond my ability to correct and therefore it is pointless to worry about it.

My studio: In the box digital all running through a class A summing mixer and a Rupert Neve designed Amek comp/lim. All the flexibility and power of digital and some lush analogue width and depth.

Absolutely. My point, albeit badly made, is that I'd wager most people can't tell the difference between digital and analog. You can. I like to think I can too. But we're in a minority. If you put a UA plug-in up against its analog counterpart, only the keenest of ears would hear a noticeable difference; fewer still if they weren't told to notice the difference at all. And I say this as someone who's an analog evangelist. I own analog gear and would choose it over digital every single time. It sounds better quicker; but with patience I can get my digital tools to sounds nearly as good most of the time. Outside the studio in the context of, say, a pub gig... the difference is IMO negligible with hefty diminishing returns. That said, there are certainly some applications where digital still has a long way to go in terms of truly emulating analog: compression being one and summing being another. Reverb? Always digital for me. EQ? I use analog for colour and digital for surgical. But that's another topic...

NBD! Love this...... looks, feels, plays and sounds superb. Epiphone have surpassed themselves with the Vintage Pro Thunderbird! I'd never waste my money on a new Gibson when this is so good.....

I dropped in on my way up the M40 last week. I needed strings but also had £2k in my bass fund pot so thought I'd check out what toys they had. They had the strings I wanted but seemed so keen to usher me out of the door that I didn't even look at basses. Instead I've spent most of it on here lol. I love the idea of the shop and have had great experiences there before but it just mystifies me how the service can be so up and down. 21 pages of divided opinion and still going says it all really for me.

I've recently picked up a Brandoni acoustic bass for using in my bluegrass/blues/jazz band and am absolutely loving it! I was using a Japanese Mustang bass (which I also love) but it didn't really fit in with the acoustic vibe of the band. I've tried numerous semi/hollow basses but none have felt right like the Mustang does. Then I stumbled across the Brandoni in Wunjo and was instantly smitten. It's essentially an acoustic guitar body converted to bass, but the tailpiece style means that short scale strings can be used. I ditched the stock roundwound strings and added some Labella 60-115 white tapewounds. The fatter strings nicely offset the 26" scale and it feels great to play. It sounds warm, and gives us the double bass kinda sound I wanted. I just wanted to see if anyone else is playing one of these? (Picture before I changed the strings)

Hi all, I thought id share this here - as im pretty appalled at what a lot of us may be falling victim to. Did you know, that when sending an amp or speaker via a courier or courier comparison site, and you pay for your amp and/or speaker to be insured for its full amount for peace of mind - that you are actually only covered for 'upto' £200 damages - not its full value ? Its in the hidden prohibited and restrictions list in companies such as dpd. Im appalled as they actually ask you to follow there proceedure and insure your parcel for its full value, which you do - and pay handsomely for - and they then confirm to you that its fully insured for its full value - only to find its not insured to anywhere near its value once theyve taken your cash and you have a legitimate claim. Its a terrible con - and i urge everyone to thoroughly check before sending ANY amp, speaker or cab via courier. Judging by how many amps and cabs are for sale on here, and how many offer postage for high price items, i thought id let people know. heres DPDs sneaky page: https://www.dpdlocal-online.co.uk/prohibited-items amps and cabs are in the not mentioned special provisions items section at the bottom. oh! - and just done a double check - GUITARS (and basses) are only insured for £100 - and must be sent in a hard case. i certainly wont be sending anything ever again.

It looks really good aidan63. and it’s great fun building your own this is one I did it started life as a blue basic squire I stripped it and sprayed it shell pink And upgraded all of it stained and polished the fretboard. I’m a carpenter/cabinetmaker and polisher by trade it’s fitted with tapewound strings sounds really mellow

Random road closures after the gig when you just want to get home

+1 - I read glowing reviews of their C-1 condenser while I was looking to upgrade my home recording setup, so I took a punt on two of them. Turns out they were good enough to record a solo EP with!

1. Guitarists who make miniscule, imperceptible adjustments to their sound in between songs, delaying the start of the next song and killing any momentum (and emptying the dancefloor in process). 2. Members who have a long list of reasons why they can't possibly drive or help bring any gear to the next gig, because they're drinking/meeting friends there etc - so can you take all their stuff instead? 3. Alternative to 2, "So can i borrow your guitar/amp/PA etc instead for the gig?" 4. In the case of 3, then won't lift a finger to help you set up the gear that's for them, or pack it down or load it out afterwards. 5. Musicians who pick songs for the band to do 'because they are easy' rather than 'because they are good.'

I can vouch for that! As I have the plasticky Dremel version does that mean that I should be twice as envious of Christine's toys as I am of yours or as you are of Christine's? It's a quality of plunge that I have yet to experience.

^^ Yes! But I've also come round to the view that if the "only fecker who's going to notice my overly deep filter sweep or bright distortion is me" well that's plenty good enough reason if it makes me / us enjoy playing more. Where I draw the line is when my or another band member's personal enjoyment of these nuances of sound / tone gets in the way of the overall band performance / audience enjoyment e.g. because a band member is faffing about between songs tweaking his pedal board resulting in 'dead air time'. It's at that point the rest of the band needs to push back. And that's kinda exactly where we are with our guitarist and his analogue pedals, adjusting between every song (when he's not re-tuning his guitar or breaking his strings - which he did once immediately before the encore; he's been under a three line whip to bring a spare guitar to every gig since!)

Haha! I did think of you Al as I was typing the word 'compression' To clarify, digital compression can certainly go a great job of it. I have some superb digital compressors (albeit plug-ins rather than stomp boxes) that I don't hesitate to use. In fact, when I want the compressor to be 'transparent' (i.e. have minimal imprint on the tone) then digital is sometimes the better option: digital generally does 'clean' very well by its nature. However, when I want to impart some colour then I nearly always opt for analog - and I think the musicality of a good, analog compressor set right is very difficult to emulate digitally. At least I've never quite managed it myself with plug-ins. All that said, it does depend a lot on what price point we're talking about. Up to a few hundred quid, I'd argue (from my own experience) that the difference between analog and digital compressors is negligible. Just choose whatever product you find is easiest or most convenient to use. Once you get above £1000 or so, the difference between analog and digital compressors is stark. I'm lucky to have access to a friend's studio, which features several high-end compressors, and they literally blow my plug-ins out of the water. But these aren't the sort of units you'd ever want to lug around to gigs. So in short: for a gigging bass player, digital compression is absolutely fine and the Helix products that I've toyed with sound great in that regard (I'm not familiar with the TC Spectracomp so can't comment on that). What matters most is the user's knowledge in setting up the compressor correctly. That knowledge is priceless but it does take time and patience to acquire... and I'm still very much working on it myself!

I think my first course of action would be to try an application of switch cleaner on the selector.

If I need a different tone, I just pick the appropriate patch on my Helix. Job Done. Also I would never take any new device (or even a new bass) to a gig (or even a rehearsal) until I was familiar enough with it for me not to be spending all my time fiddling between songs. The first time I used my Helix at rehearsal I had the spend maybe a minute after each song adjusting some of the effects parameters from what I thought would work at home to what I could tell I needed once I'd used them in the band context. At the second rehearsal I still had a little bit of work to do on the more complex and exacting tones. By the fourth rehearsal I had all the patches sorted and programmed in the correct order for the set. With all my sounds being set up before I play I don't really need any real-time control. There's one expression pedal built-in (and connections for adding two more) which can be assigned to any parameter(s) I want. There's a tap-tempo switch which will synchronise any effects that require it. Everything else is done by setting up my patches before hand. And in 30 years of using programmable effects I've never been in a situation where I've needed to tweak my settings for an unfamiliar environment. I set up my bass rig, switch on, and there is my sound ready to play. Leaving aside the fact that EQ is not the right tool for correcting room problems (it can fix the problem in one place in the room - usually where you are standing - and probably make it worse in 2 others out in the audience, and you can make a bigger different most of the time by moving the direction your bass rig is pointing in), the Helix has a global EQ setting which could be used to tailor the overall sound for a particularly problematic environment. For the vast majority of my gigs what the audience hears of my bass is through the PA (which is why I've dumped my amp and cabs in favour of a powered FRFR cab) and as long as I can hear myself and a reasonable mix of the other instruments on stage, I'm happy. Chasing your tone at a pub gig, or when you have less than 30 minutes to set up and sound check the whole band who are sandwiched into the tiny bit of stage left over after the big-name headliners have set up all their gear, is for bands who aren't going to be asked back to play/support again. I want to be set up and ready to play with the minimum amount of fuss, and the Helix lets me do that.

It's a great little unit, enjoy.

What a mindblast!

And that'll be the trussrod and nordstrand pickups, then

Any clear coat will tend to darken the wood - except for the finish that @Andyjr1515 used on the Psilos build recently (which contains a hint of white pigment to keep it light) Make sure the first coat is flattened nicely, then another coat of sealer and gentle sand back should do. You'll then want to apply 2 or 3 coats of lacquer with only gentle sanding between coats. You don't want to burn through to the sealer. Then you can lay on more coats to finish as required. What lacquer are you using? Nitrocellulouse is a bit more forgiving because the coats merge together. Poly will form distinct layers so you need to be a bit more careful with the sanding to avoid burning through - you'll see witness lines if you do. Oil finishes such as tru-oil can also be polished up to a high gloss if you have the patience to do so. Most types of lacquer need careful attention to the health and safety warnings - it's not nice stuff to be breathing in!

is there a link to BC podcast?

I really like this track, and it's got some great playing on it by the big man himself. This took me an hour or two, and had to resort to slowing it down to catch those crazy runs! I wasn't sure what he was playing a one or two parts, mainly the triplet, where I just stuck in the root Please tell me any suggestions/improvements! I'll have a midi file up soon.

Have waited a few days before writing this up until I was able to use if at home and out in a gigging situation. So what is the Helix HX? It is basically all the effects you get when buying a full fat or LT Helix, plus some more added from the big 4 button and M series pedals, minus the amp and cab modeling in it’s bigger brother. In addition the HX can be used to control your pedalboard switching and routing needs. It has 2 FX loops to incorporate and switch existing pedals. There are 2 basic settings, stomp box mode and scene mode. In stomp box mode you switch individual pedals/loops on and off with the foot switches, in scene mode 1 button would switch on/off a specified group of pedals and loops. Very flexible and both settings give you real control of your pedalboard. At 43 I have one foot in the analogue era, but have been exploring DSP based effects for years. I am happy, although a little melancholy at the same time, to confirm the hype is real. Line6 have cracked component level emulation and the end result is that the HX delivers 117 or such emulated pedals that can fully compete directly with their stompbox (often analogue) brethren. There is a lot on BC and other forums on Helix, so it makes sense to not spend too much time on the technical aspects and focus on what it does for me as a frequently gigging, sometimes depping and periodically recording part-time musician. How have I set it up? Bass goes to my preferred compressor the Keeley Compressor Pro (the onboard compressors actually are very good, but I own the Keeley so might keep using it), into the HX. Loop 1 has my Future Impact and a COG Octaver (the FX loop has a blend function which is so handy), loop 2 has my long time favourite low gain Bearfoot Blueberry BOD and a DG Duality. These loops can be allocated to any position in the FX chain, so e.g. the Dirt loop can be the latest in the chain or earliest as required. My main issue with DSP effects WAS that dirt, octave and filters were generally okay but not a viable alternative to my stompboxes. I am amazed to report that I would be perfectly happy for Helix to cover my dirt. It is that good. So much so that I no longer have a B3K in loop 2 and use the emulated B7K instead. I simply cannot tell the difference in a real world situation. The Duality and BBOD are still on as I prefer them over equivalent emulated pedals, but if Line6 would emulate the Duality and BBOD I am comfortable they could be replaced. There is a really good Octaver in the HX, but I doubt the COG (or FI for that matter) will ever be replaced. But I have 2 switchable loops so who cares right? The envelope filters are very good. I use filters only in combination with octave and fuzz. Built in are more than acceptable for my application. Other may feel they still need a separate filter pedal, difficult for me to judge. All in all the HX is a compact (slightly larger than an M9) multi that doubles as a control centre for your board. Sounds great, is intuitive, is flexible and appears to be built as a tank. Some Zoom B3(n) users might think, why pay so much more for getting rid of the amp and cab emulations etc? Understandable question: I own a B3n, great fx unit in it’s own right, but totally and utterly put to shame by the HX on application, flexibility, sound quality (especially dirt and filter) and construction. DSP is here to stay and I am fully bought in.

There's only a veneer's width between the two

This, absolutely. Drives me crazy.

I don't know how I missed this thread. As you will have doubtless discovered by now there are very few semi-acoustic 34" scale basses, and TBH if you are after a proper vintage vibe both in sound and feel then you should be looking at a 30" or 32" scale bass. I have a Warwick Starbass which certainly fits the 34" criterion and IMO is an excellent bass, but only if you get a proper Warwick and not the Rockbass version as they are 32".

Could be that, but a lot of professionals I see rock up with Squiers. Edit: And anything that has the tag 'Professional' applied to it inevitably turns out not to be so...

I'm assuming these were sold as being brand new. I'm a tit. Sorry, I should've sat down to read that first time 'round.

If I had to guess I'd say that neither of those are "Galvanically Isolated" (well maybe one of the outputs on the second one but not all). For minimum power / ground noise and ground loop susceptibility you need separate grounds. Lots of supplies that state "isolated" just really mean that the outputs are separately regulated / protected - eg you could shortt one out and it wouldn't damage the other outputs - but they are on the same ground. But you can probably get an answer direct from Thomman. They were helpful when I enquired whether this was the case with the PowerPlant Junior vs Powerplant. The 'Junior' is, as stated "Galvanically Isolated" (also means can 'stack voltages to give 18V using two outputs) whilst the Powerplant is not. Sounds wrong I know. They were able to confirm this prior to purchase. I do realise the Junior is likely too small too meet all your requirents in one unit.

Here is my contribution to the June 2018 Basschat Composition Challenge, inspired by a picture chosen by last month's winner: Mornats. Not a good month for me; there are only strained, tenuous links to the picture (the 9/8 rhythm and the virtual 'cats'...). All Kontakt stuff: a 60's drum kit, a nice nylon guitar and some Blue 'singing', created in Reaper with minimal treatment, and mastered with AAMS, 'Country' preset. Modest; it is what it is. Thanks for listening, if you already have; if you're about to, enjoy.

My "standard" Helix patch started off with nothing. I took memory 01A and cleared all the modules out of it, and then added what I wanted one module at a time, experimenting with the different types of modules for each effect and their parameters, until I had a sound for each effect that I liked. Then I started combining the individual effects together experimenting with the order and tweaking the individual effect parameters to compensate for how the different effects worked together in a patch. Pretty much how I would have done with a set of individual analogue pedals.

I didn't get to watch the download of this until this morning. It's a great start to hump day, thank you.

Deep joy . - Also seek Harry Nillson's " The Point " album . A version of the cartoon featuring the songs had Dustin Hoffman narrating , another had Harry's pal Ringo . This version seems to be narrated by someone else : Similar plots , in that the subject undertakes a journey of discovery ....

The last few times I sent instruments and cabs I used a company called P4D who act as broker service. I went through the order, checked extra insurance and then actually picked up the phone and spoke to a really nice lady in the office to double check that the items I was sending were not in any way prohibited and there could be no excuses made for not covering the instrument or cab. I was assured and had an email to confirm the couriers would insure to the full value, provided that the items were packaged well. Everything I sell goes in a hard case where possible with bubble wrap and then wrapped in heavy card. If I don't have a hard case I get the factory packaging for a similar sized instrument and send in that. Then I take photos of every stage of packing so that if anything happens I can bombard the courier/broker with how well it was packed. I had one incident where a cab had been dropped hard and damaged it. I wrote to P4D straight away with pictures of packing and damage and explained the only way the damage could have been caused. It was dealt with in a couple of days and I got the full price I insured the cab for no questions asked. Moral of the story...if in doubt ring the courier and check its covered and get written confirmation and the name of whoever you spoke to, sorted!

I reckon BC branded picks and/or fingers might be a winner.

I am obviously blessed - or enough penance has been served with previous outfits. New guys don't noodle, don't play overly loud, give each other stage space, have impeccable gear, guitars stay in cases until it's soundcheck...which takes a verse and half of something outside the set. Luckily all the bands I've played in have always helped tear down/load out but these take it a step above - even making sure cables are coiled, velcro tied, counted, in the right pile etc. The completely non-tech vocalist acts as a stage hand and will run around grabbing things as we need then - nothing is too much trouble for her. I don't know how they put up with me as apparently I'm a terrible band mate and previous bands are much better/happier without me! 😉

A darned shame, as they were/still are excellent polos; I wear mine often, and it's still as good as new. Real quality stuff. I'm biased, perhaps, but I'd recommend going for quality stuff over stuff that just 'sells'. Just sayin'.

I am really enjoying the Wal tone on this video I did what just appeared on YouTube. It was di'd so this is the 'studio' sound.